Data storage devices (DSDs) are often used to record data onto or to reproduce data from a storage media. Some DSDs include multiple types of storage media. For example, in the case of a solid-state hybrid drive (SSHD), a non-volatile semiconductor memory (NVSM) such as a solid-state drive (SSD), a flash memory, and/or a NAND memory may be utilized in addition to a rotating magnetic disk for storing data.
A host may access the NVSM relatively frequently in an SSHD. Write amplification (WA) is an undesirable characteristic associated with the NVSM where the actual amount of physical data written to the NVSM is greater than the logical amount intended to be written by a host. WA may be due to various factors including erasing of data before rewriting the data in the NVSM and/or moving (or rewriting) the data more than once. Since a practical usable life of the NVSM is limited to a finite number of program erase cycles (PECs), WA shortens the practical life of the NVSM by increasing the number of writes required over the life of the NVSM. If a host and/or a controller access the NVSM frequently and/or WA is too high, the NVSM may prematurely suffer a significant or sudden decrease in performance.